Lake Park breaks through in a big way
Lancers post 1st win of season with 5-0 decision over Rockford E.
By Dave Owen
ROSELLE -- Lake Park took the adage ‘no pain, no gain’ a bit too literally Tuesday.
But the result was a very nice gain.
Entering Tuesday’s PepsiCo Showdown second round match against Rockford East on a nine-game losing streak (albeit one that included losses to powers like Naperville North and Conant), the Lancers had another taste of bad luck on their plate in the opening minute.
After Cyndi Martinez battled to win a loose ball near the net, Jaclyn Lamz’s hard shot that appeared headed for a spot inside the post instead hit Martinez square in the face.
Fortunately that painful moment didn’t start a domino effect. Lamz’s next chance three minutes later resulted in a goal, and Lake Park (1-9-0) rampaged through the second half with a four-score outburst (three in the first 11 minutes of the half) to win 5-0 over visiting Rockford East (2-3-0).
After an early season of good defensive efforts resulting in frustrating losses, the Lancers hit the win column.
“It’s amazing,” Martinez said. “To have this win – we really needed it, and I feel we really worked hard for it. I feel the skills we’ve been working on in practice really showed through, and I’m really proud of the team.”
As for the wild opening-minute play?
“It was a bang-bang play,” said Lake Park coach Sean Crosby in what appeared to be an unintentional pun. “Cyndi got the ball and tried to get on the end of it. They tried to clear off in a dangerous area, then Jaclyn stepped into it really quick and put it on frame. It almost goes in, but it shot off Cyndi. She was the goal line save for them.
“It was tough for Cyndi to get out of the way in the time she had, to try to win the ball, turn around, and it’s just put right on her. But we kept on them, and we broke the seal and continued pressing.”
Martinez left the game briefly after the play, but appeared no worse for the wear during a happy postgame interview session.
“Honestly it’s just battle wounds from this beautiful game,” joked Martinez, who scored her first goal of 2018 during the second half onslaught.
“But I was kind of hungry for that goal. We all were. And for us to get these scoring opportunities was really cool.”
The first half breakthrough in the fourth minute was also Lake Park’s first goal of 2018, a Lamz goal off an assist by senior Gianna Pistorio.
“We had the attitude that we were going to bounce back (after the early tough break),” said Lamz, whose eventual two-goal night earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“One of my teammates Gianna had it on her right foot. She just laid it off, and I was just there.”
Then after a series of unfulfilled chances in the next 35 minutes of the first half had the Lancers up just 1-0 at halftime, the message during the break came through loud and clear.
“Possession needed to improve, because we started the game pretty strong and put a lot of good ball pressure on to win (50-50 balls) in their half,” Crosby said. “But then it dropped off a little bit about midway through the first half, and it just wasn’t consistent all the way through.
“We had opportunities that were there, and we were maybe getting a little too greedy to get forward instead of being patient.
“That was the conversation for the second half, to be a little bit more patient and connect passes and get possession,” Crosby added. “That would lead to scoring chances. Our girls committed to it.”
While Lamz was the main scoring catalyst, there were many others.
“A big help was through the midfield, the passing between Ann Marie (Ahrens), Bri (McAloon) and Steph (Zachemski)," Crosby said. "They possessed, switched the field, got forward into the attack, and really brought a little patience and poise to us.”
The Lancers took command quickly after the break.
With 37:35 left, a 60-yard free kick by defender Amber Sedwick high up the middle was redirected by a Martinez flick. Freshman Ahrens did the rest, chipping an 18-yard shot just under the crossbar for a 2-0 lead.
“Ann Marie might have had her best game of the season today,” Crosby said. “She was very patient, very poised, connected passes, got a great strike on goal and found the back of the net. And she deserves it too. She’s been playing really well for us.”
Less than three minutes later, Lamz’s next chance essentially put the game away.
Senior Lauren Tarchala nicely won a 50-50 ball 20 yards out on the left sideline. Her cross attempt deflected off a defender to Lamz racing in on the right side for a putaway and a comfortable 3-0 Lancers edge.
“To get two goals tonight is big for ‘Jacks,’ as a senior really stepping up for us,” Crosby said of Lamz. “She deserves it.
“She puts herself in good positions. And when we open up the field a little bit she has a sense for sneaking in behind defenders. And she really took risks today, which we wanted out of her to be a little more attack-minded. It paid off for her. She waited for it, then attacked and got risky at the right moments.”
After Tarchala’s effort initiated the third Lake Park goal, another extra effort play paid off for a 4-0 lead with 29:03 left.
Sedwick made an offensive zone interception and found Ahrens. With the same combination and similar play as the first goal of the half, Ahrens’ short pass set up Martinez for her own chip just under the crossbar.
“I was over the moon. I was so happy,” Martinez said of her goal. “My teammate (Ahrens), I had assisted her (earlier). And then for her to assist me on my goal -- I’m number 4, and for me to score that fourth goal, I was so excited.”
The fifth Lancers goal came with just 1:38 left. Off a Zachemski corner kick, the ball went off a Rockford East player in front for an own goal.
That fluke bounce bookended the early bad break for the Lancers, summing up a very different last 40 minutes.
“Our coach said to stay wide, and when the ball comes through take it down the line,” Lamz said of the second half.
“It feels good to get the win, especially since we’ve had a rough start. We just had to keep our heads up and stay focused in practices.”
That paid off with victory Tuesday. And a Lake Park squad that features six freshmen and three sophomores continued to mature.
“They (the freshmen) are really playing strong,” Crosby said. “Ann Marie and Emma (Thorne) are consistent 80-minute starters for most games, and Emma as a center back is huge for us. She’s a very good 1-v.-1 defender with a good sense of positioning on the field.
“Even as a freshman she wants to learn from those around her, but she also steps in like she’s been there and done that. She really plays like an upperclassmen.
“(Freshman) Alexis (Morgan) came in off the bench and has been getting a lot of minutes for us,” Crosby added, “and our sophomore class is pretty big and is a group we’re excited to see a lot of. They’ve all been getting minutes in the four games since they’ve been up with us.
“They spent a little time at JV early in the season and showed great progress right away. I’m very happy to see what they’ve done. They see what the older girls do, step in and try to mimic that play. It’s really strong from everybody. It was a really good team effort tonight.”
Blocked shots by Thorne and Pistorio denied a Rockford East threat after a corner kick with 22:40 left, three minutes after goalkeeper Sarah Yochem made a nice diving save on a 15-yard shot. Those two chances were rare threats to the Lancers’ shutout performance.
“We’re making progress defensively,” Crosby said. “We’re doing better with our goals-against average and committing to defending.”
And at the offensive end, a steady flow of second half chances continued around the four goals.
Among the best near misses: a Lamz shot just wide of the left post off a McAloon pass with 24:40 left; and Rockford East goalkeeper Madalyn Miller’s high saves on quality shots by Tarchala, McAloon (a diving stop on a 10-yard try with 20:50 left), Zachemski and Pistorio.
McAloon had two excellent late chances narrowly denied. First, her shot off a Morgan cross went inches wide of the net with 8:10 to play. Then with 3:15 left, McAloon’s shot near the right post off a Zachemski corner kick was blocked off the line by a Rockford East defender.
“I had a few kids feeling a little down,” Rockford East coach Priscilla Rivas said, “but I told them this is the kind of team we’re going to encounter in our conference as well. We’re just taking it as a practice.
“In the second half we were trying to switch kids around and see where their best place would be for the next games.”
As for the Lancers, the nice finishes and many close calls added up to a great second half.
“It’s nice for the girls to see when you do the little things right, keeping the ball, moving it and letting the ball do the work, you’re going to get chances,” Crosby said. “We’re just playing more simply and letting it come to us. That’s what we needed.
“It’s been a tough road before this, but hopefully this is a turnaround.”
Martinez sees the good feelings of Tuesday as the start of much better things.
“From here now it’s just keep going,” she said. “We have a lot to come -- this is only halfway through the season. We’re going to keep going strong. There’s a lot more room for improvement, because we’re a good team.”
Starting lineups
Rockford East
GK Madalyn Miller
D Emmeline Avila
D Jasmina Singmouangthong
D Karlye DeCastro-Hull-Disch
D Suheily Resendiz
M Jamie Ward
M Andrea Manriquez
M Simge Cetin
M Janet Fuentes
F Janessa Aguilera
F Hailey Hunter
Lake Park
GK Sarah Yochem
D Amber Sedwick
D Emma Thorne
D Sarah Novak
D Elizabeth Guenther
M Stephanie Zachemski
M Cyndi Martinez
M Ann Marie Ahrens
M Brianna McAloon
F Lauren Tarchala
F Jaclyn Lamz
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jaclyn Lamz, sr. F, Lake Park
Scoring
Lake Park – Jaclyn Lamz (Gianna Pistorio) 4th minute
Lake Park – Ann Marie Ahrens (Cyndi Martinez) 42nd minute
Lake Park – Lamz (Lauren Tarchala) 46th minute
Lake Park – Martinez (Ahrens) 51st minute
Lake Park – own goal Rockford East 79th minute
Lancers post 1st win of season with 5-0 decision over Rockford E.
By Dave Owen
ROSELLE -- Lake Park took the adage ‘no pain, no gain’ a bit too literally Tuesday.
But the result was a very nice gain.
Entering Tuesday’s PepsiCo Showdown second round match against Rockford East on a nine-game losing streak (albeit one that included losses to powers like Naperville North and Conant), the Lancers had another taste of bad luck on their plate in the opening minute.
After Cyndi Martinez battled to win a loose ball near the net, Jaclyn Lamz’s hard shot that appeared headed for a spot inside the post instead hit Martinez square in the face.
Fortunately that painful moment didn’t start a domino effect. Lamz’s next chance three minutes later resulted in a goal, and Lake Park (1-9-0) rampaged through the second half with a four-score outburst (three in the first 11 minutes of the half) to win 5-0 over visiting Rockford East (2-3-0).
After an early season of good defensive efforts resulting in frustrating losses, the Lancers hit the win column.
“It’s amazing,” Martinez said. “To have this win – we really needed it, and I feel we really worked hard for it. I feel the skills we’ve been working on in practice really showed through, and I’m really proud of the team.”
As for the wild opening-minute play?
“It was a bang-bang play,” said Lake Park coach Sean Crosby in what appeared to be an unintentional pun. “Cyndi got the ball and tried to get on the end of it. They tried to clear off in a dangerous area, then Jaclyn stepped into it really quick and put it on frame. It almost goes in, but it shot off Cyndi. She was the goal line save for them.
“It was tough for Cyndi to get out of the way in the time she had, to try to win the ball, turn around, and it’s just put right on her. But we kept on them, and we broke the seal and continued pressing.”
Martinez left the game briefly after the play, but appeared no worse for the wear during a happy postgame interview session.
“Honestly it’s just battle wounds from this beautiful game,” joked Martinez, who scored her first goal of 2018 during the second half onslaught.
“But I was kind of hungry for that goal. We all were. And for us to get these scoring opportunities was really cool.”
The first half breakthrough in the fourth minute was also Lake Park’s first goal of 2018, a Lamz goal off an assist by senior Gianna Pistorio.
“We had the attitude that we were going to bounce back (after the early tough break),” said Lamz, whose eventual two-goal night earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
“One of my teammates Gianna had it on her right foot. She just laid it off, and I was just there.”
Then after a series of unfulfilled chances in the next 35 minutes of the first half had the Lancers up just 1-0 at halftime, the message during the break came through loud and clear.
“Possession needed to improve, because we started the game pretty strong and put a lot of good ball pressure on to win (50-50 balls) in their half,” Crosby said. “But then it dropped off a little bit about midway through the first half, and it just wasn’t consistent all the way through.
“We had opportunities that were there, and we were maybe getting a little too greedy to get forward instead of being patient.
“That was the conversation for the second half, to be a little bit more patient and connect passes and get possession,” Crosby added. “That would lead to scoring chances. Our girls committed to it.”
While Lamz was the main scoring catalyst, there were many others.
“A big help was through the midfield, the passing between Ann Marie (Ahrens), Bri (McAloon) and Steph (Zachemski)," Crosby said. "They possessed, switched the field, got forward into the attack, and really brought a little patience and poise to us.”
The Lancers took command quickly after the break.
With 37:35 left, a 60-yard free kick by defender Amber Sedwick high up the middle was redirected by a Martinez flick. Freshman Ahrens did the rest, chipping an 18-yard shot just under the crossbar for a 2-0 lead.
“Ann Marie might have had her best game of the season today,” Crosby said. “She was very patient, very poised, connected passes, got a great strike on goal and found the back of the net. And she deserves it too. She’s been playing really well for us.”
Less than three minutes later, Lamz’s next chance essentially put the game away.
Senior Lauren Tarchala nicely won a 50-50 ball 20 yards out on the left sideline. Her cross attempt deflected off a defender to Lamz racing in on the right side for a putaway and a comfortable 3-0 Lancers edge.
“To get two goals tonight is big for ‘Jacks,’ as a senior really stepping up for us,” Crosby said of Lamz. “She deserves it.
“She puts herself in good positions. And when we open up the field a little bit she has a sense for sneaking in behind defenders. And she really took risks today, which we wanted out of her to be a little more attack-minded. It paid off for her. She waited for it, then attacked and got risky at the right moments.”
After Tarchala’s effort initiated the third Lake Park goal, another extra effort play paid off for a 4-0 lead with 29:03 left.
Sedwick made an offensive zone interception and found Ahrens. With the same combination and similar play as the first goal of the half, Ahrens’ short pass set up Martinez for her own chip just under the crossbar.
“I was over the moon. I was so happy,” Martinez said of her goal. “My teammate (Ahrens), I had assisted her (earlier). And then for her to assist me on my goal -- I’m number 4, and for me to score that fourth goal, I was so excited.”
The fifth Lancers goal came with just 1:38 left. Off a Zachemski corner kick, the ball went off a Rockford East player in front for an own goal.
That fluke bounce bookended the early bad break for the Lancers, summing up a very different last 40 minutes.
“Our coach said to stay wide, and when the ball comes through take it down the line,” Lamz said of the second half.
“It feels good to get the win, especially since we’ve had a rough start. We just had to keep our heads up and stay focused in practices.”
That paid off with victory Tuesday. And a Lake Park squad that features six freshmen and three sophomores continued to mature.
“They (the freshmen) are really playing strong,” Crosby said. “Ann Marie and Emma (Thorne) are consistent 80-minute starters for most games, and Emma as a center back is huge for us. She’s a very good 1-v.-1 defender with a good sense of positioning on the field.
“Even as a freshman she wants to learn from those around her, but she also steps in like she’s been there and done that. She really plays like an upperclassmen.
“(Freshman) Alexis (Morgan) came in off the bench and has been getting a lot of minutes for us,” Crosby added, “and our sophomore class is pretty big and is a group we’re excited to see a lot of. They’ve all been getting minutes in the four games since they’ve been up with us.
“They spent a little time at JV early in the season and showed great progress right away. I’m very happy to see what they’ve done. They see what the older girls do, step in and try to mimic that play. It’s really strong from everybody. It was a really good team effort tonight.”
Blocked shots by Thorne and Pistorio denied a Rockford East threat after a corner kick with 22:40 left, three minutes after goalkeeper Sarah Yochem made a nice diving save on a 15-yard shot. Those two chances were rare threats to the Lancers’ shutout performance.
“We’re making progress defensively,” Crosby said. “We’re doing better with our goals-against average and committing to defending.”
And at the offensive end, a steady flow of second half chances continued around the four goals.
Among the best near misses: a Lamz shot just wide of the left post off a McAloon pass with 24:40 left; and Rockford East goalkeeper Madalyn Miller’s high saves on quality shots by Tarchala, McAloon (a diving stop on a 10-yard try with 20:50 left), Zachemski and Pistorio.
McAloon had two excellent late chances narrowly denied. First, her shot off a Morgan cross went inches wide of the net with 8:10 to play. Then with 3:15 left, McAloon’s shot near the right post off a Zachemski corner kick was blocked off the line by a Rockford East defender.
“I had a few kids feeling a little down,” Rockford East coach Priscilla Rivas said, “but I told them this is the kind of team we’re going to encounter in our conference as well. We’re just taking it as a practice.
“In the second half we were trying to switch kids around and see where their best place would be for the next games.”
As for the Lancers, the nice finishes and many close calls added up to a great second half.
“It’s nice for the girls to see when you do the little things right, keeping the ball, moving it and letting the ball do the work, you’re going to get chances,” Crosby said. “We’re just playing more simply and letting it come to us. That’s what we needed.
“It’s been a tough road before this, but hopefully this is a turnaround.”
Martinez sees the good feelings of Tuesday as the start of much better things.
“From here now it’s just keep going,” she said. “We have a lot to come -- this is only halfway through the season. We’re going to keep going strong. There’s a lot more room for improvement, because we’re a good team.”
Starting lineups
Rockford East
GK Madalyn Miller
D Emmeline Avila
D Jasmina Singmouangthong
D Karlye DeCastro-Hull-Disch
D Suheily Resendiz
M Jamie Ward
M Andrea Manriquez
M Simge Cetin
M Janet Fuentes
F Janessa Aguilera
F Hailey Hunter
Lake Park
GK Sarah Yochem
D Amber Sedwick
D Emma Thorne
D Sarah Novak
D Elizabeth Guenther
M Stephanie Zachemski
M Cyndi Martinez
M Ann Marie Ahrens
M Brianna McAloon
F Lauren Tarchala
F Jaclyn Lamz
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jaclyn Lamz, sr. F, Lake Park
Scoring
Lake Park – Jaclyn Lamz (Gianna Pistorio) 4th minute
Lake Park – Ann Marie Ahrens (Cyndi Martinez) 42nd minute
Lake Park – Lamz (Lauren Tarchala) 46th minute
Lake Park – Martinez (Ahrens) 51st minute
Lake Park – own goal Rockford East 79th minute